By TIM McKEOUGH

January 23, 2013

AS THE OWNER of Wright auction house in Chicago, Richard Wright spends his days surrounded by covetable midcentury modern furnishings from around the world. For Mr. Wright, however, there is one region that deserves extra attention: Scandinavia.

In most of the design produced in that part of the world, he explained, “there’s a really great sense of modernity and restraint balancing each other.” That’s one reason the work of different Scandinavian designers usually looks good together, he said, making it easy to collect.

“Italian design can be really disparate, but with Scandinavian design there’s a shared sensibility,” said Mr. Wright, 49, whose company holds two sales a year devoted exclusively to vintage Scandinavian design.

It’s a sensibility rooted in function, he said, but one that also manages to be playful: “They have long winters, and a little hit of humor or color can be pretty welcome.”

The latest generation of designers to follow in the footsteps of masters like Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl and Josef Frank, he said, seems to share a similar approach. On a recent visit to New York, Mr. Wright picked out a few good examples.

At the Future Perfect in NoHo, he liked the w081t2 task light by the Swedish firm Claesson Koivisto Rune, a functional lamp that wasn’t overly serious. “It adjusts in all the ways you want it to,” Mr. Wright noted, but the vibrant green finish adds a touch of fun.

There was a similar spirit to the Kaleido trays by Clara von Zweigbergk, a Swedish designer, which he found at Design Within Reach in SoHo. The trays come in various sizes and colors, and fit together in a modular system, so users can create their own compositions. “It’s just pure geometry,” Mr. Wright said. “In color.”

At the Fritz Hansen showroom, he was immediately drawn to the Minuscule chair by Cecilie Manz, a Danish designer, admiring the craftsmanship that went into details like the tiny line of leather trim edging the seat. “That touch of leather really speaks to the Scandinavian aesthetic,” he said.

Just down the block, at Property, he admired the Cord lamp by Form Us With Love, a Swedish design firm. At first glance, it looked like little more than a self-supporting length of fabric-wrapped electrical cord. But “it’s actually nice to touch,” he said, lifting it up. “It’s both serious and adorable.”

And even better, he said: “It has a vintage feel. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”